Air service hose rack



Dec. 26, 1933. T. H. SHOPE AIR SERVICE HOSE RACK Filed Jan. 26, 1932 I/E/I/ r0 ,6 72 0/ 7/76 5 025 7W Fatentecl Dec. 26 1933 UNITED STATES ATE T oFFicE AIR SERVICE HOSE RACK Thomas H. sha e, South Gate, Calif. H

Application January 26, 1932. Serial No. 589,007

6 Claims. (crass-7r My invention relates to an air service hose rack and has for its principal object, the provision of a relatively simple, practical and inexpensive rack that may be conveniently employed in automobile service stations, garages and the like for supporting and manipulating the compressed air supply hose that is utilized'for inflating pneumatic tires.

Further objects of my invention are, to generally improve uponand simplify the construction of theexisting forms. of air service hose racks and reels, to provide ahose supporting rack or reel that is mounted so that it maybe conveniently swung through a horizontalarc of approximately 180 in order to enable the valve that is carried by the free end of the hoseto be conveniently manipulated during the tire infiation'operations, and further, to construct the rack or reel so that the supported hose maybe readily withdrawn to enable the tire filling valve to be applied to the filling nipples or stems of tires. j

A further object of my invention is, to provide an air service hose rack or reel wherein a part.

of the reel including a sliding frame carrying a plurality of pulleys is elevated as a result of the unreeling ofthe hose and the weight of which sliding frame and pulleys is utilized for rewind ing the hose onto the rack or reel after the tire inflation operations have been completed.

(,Withthe foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that Will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawingin which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevationalview of an air service hose rack or reel constructed in accordance with my invention.

v Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the rack or reel.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. V r Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectiontaken through the lower portion of one of the upright members of the swinging frame.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-'-5 of Fig. 4. a

, Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrate a practical embodi- 5 mentof my invention, 10, 10 designatebrackets that are secured in. any suitable manner, one directly above the other, to a suitable support, for instance, the face of a building wall or to a post and projecting outwardly from .the'facesof these brackets are lugs 11 thatare provided withfvertically disposed apertures which are in direct vertical alignment with each other.

The swinging frame of my improved rack or reel comprises a substantially U-shaped' member, preferably formed of metal rods or bars and the upper end of one of the vertical legs'12 of the swinging frame'is bent outwardly and thence downwardly to form inverted L-shaped hook 13, the vertical leg of which engages in the aperture in the upper one or" the lugs 11.

Projecting outwardly from the lower end of the member 12 that carries hook. 13 at its upper end and in horizontal alignment with the horizontal bar 14 that connects the lower endsof members 12, is a hook 15, the vertical leg 'of which passes through the aperture in the lower one of the lugs 11; 1

Secured in any suitable manner to the lower horizontal member 14 of the swinging frame, are the lower ends of upright channel-shape members 16 and the upper ends ofthese channels, which terminate adjacent to theupper ends of the upright rods 12 of the swinging frame." are secured in any suitablemanner, preferably by means ofbolts 1'7, to horizontally disposed spaced parallel bars 18, which span the space between theupper ends of said upright bars 12. The channels 16 are arranged so that they enclose or partially enclose the upright rods 12 and thus the hose that is carried by the rack or reel is prevented from making contact with the greased surfaces of the rods 12.

J ournaled on horizontally disposed pins or bolts 19, that pass through the bars 18 are two pairs of hose carrying pulleys20' and'if desired the bearings for these pulleys may be of the antifriction type in order to minimize friction.

Arranged to slide freely on the upright members 12 of the swinging frame, between the flanges of the channels 16, are cylindricalblo'cks 21 and each block is provided with a chamber 22 that is packed with greaseor other lubricant. v Formed integral with and projecting outwardly from each block 21, isalug 23 provided with a grease chamber 24 thathas communicationwith chamber ,22, by means of a duct 25 and-passing horizontally through each lug 23 and the grease chamber 24 therein, is a sleeve 26, the. length of which is slightly longer than said lug 23.

Theends of a pair of horizontally disposed spaced barsf27 are secured to the ends of the sleeves 26 by bolts '28, whichpass through said barsandsleeves. I A v Sleeve 26 is perforated inorder that the grease within chamber Zimay have direct contact with. 1 1 0 the surfaces of the bolt 28 and thereby preventing the bolt from becoming rusted or frozen in the sleeve and to the bars 2'7.

Arranged on the lower portion of the upright members 12 and above the ends of the horizontal bar 14, are expansive springs 29 that function as cushions to yieldingly support the weight of the bars 27 and the parts carried thereby.

Passing through the spaced bars 27, are pins or bolts 30, upon which are mounted for rotation pairs of hose carrying pulleys 31, and mounted on the pin or bolt 30 nearest the upright member 12 that is provided with a hook 15 at its lower end, is a hose receiving pulley 32.

The members of one pair of the pulleys 31 is located between the spaced bars 27, while the other pair is located immediately outside one of said bars and to prevent the hose from accidentally running off the pulleys they are located to the side of the bar, a suitable guard 33 is secured to the bar and a portion of which guard overlies the lower portions of the outside pair of pulleys.

Secured to the end of bar 14, opposite the end that is provided with the hook 15,v is a frame 34 and journaled therein is a pair of small pulleys 35 that are in alignment with the pulley 32.

The hose that is supported upon the rack or reel and which may be of the standard type of air hose used in service stations, leads from a suitable source of compressed air supply, either a tank or pump, to a clamping bracket 36 that is suitably secured to the upper end of the vertical member 12 that is provided with the hook 13 and from thence the hose extends downwardly beleys 20, thence downwardly beneath pulley 32 and thence between the small pulleys 35 and the depending end of this hose carries a standard form of valve utilized for inflating pneumatic tires and the like.

" For convenience in manipulation and for the saving of space, I prefer to locate the brackets 10 at such a height as that the swinging frame or reel will operate in a plane above the tops of motor vehicle and while not in use the swinging frame will lie against the building wall or other support to one side or the other of the brackets 10.

To manipulate the rack or reel and unwind a portion of the hose in order to inflate a tire, an attendant grasps the depending portion of the hose and pulls downwardly thereupon with the result that the sliding frame comprising the bars 2'7, blocks 21 and pulleys 31 and 32 will be elevated and during such movement the blocks 21 will slide upward upon the rods 12.

Inasmuchas the rack or reel is mounted for swinging movement upon the lugs 11 that proj'ect'from brackets 10, said rack or reel may be conveniently swung throughout an arc of approxima'tely and the Withdhavvn portion of the hose may be conveniently manipulated in order to apply the filling valve to the stem or nipple of the tire that is inflated.

After the inflating operation has been completed, the attendant relieves the hose of pulling strains and the weight of the sliding frame comprising the bars 27, blocks 21 and pulleys 31 and 32 will, by gravity, move downward until the lower ends of the blocks 21rest upon the springs 29 and during such downward movement of the sliding frame, the previously withdrawn portion of the hose will be rewound upon the pulleys.

If desired, the entire rack or reel or that portion including the swinging and sliding frames may be enclosed in a suitable housing of sheet metal or the like so as to protect the operating parts of the structure against the elements and also preventing dropping of grease from the lubricated parts of the apparatus.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an air service hose rack and reel that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

The rack or reel occupies comparatively little space, may be conveniently swung to one side or the other so as to occupy an out-of-the-way position after being used and the withdrawn portion of the hoseis automatically rewound on the rack or reel by the weight of the sliding frame which moves downward to its normal position after pulling strains on the withdrawn portion of the hose mounted so as to swing through an arc of approximately 180, said frame may be conveniently swung into any position so as to align the pulleys with that portion of the hose that is withdrawn from the rack or reel and such action greatly facilitates tire inflating operations.

The various hose supporting pulleys utilized in the rack may be of any desired construction, although I prefer to use anti-friction pulleys of the type disclosed in my co-pending application for Letters Patent upon air service hose rack, filed January 26, 1932, Serial No. 539,006.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved air service hose rack may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the'spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air service hose rack,'a pair of spaced vertically aligned supports, an upright frame said frame, a frame arranged to slide vertically on the first mentioned frame between said'supports, pulleys journaled on said sliding frame and a hose supported by the two sets of saidpulleys;

2. In an air service hose rack, a pair of spaced vertically aligned supports, an upright frame mounted for horizontal swinging movement upon said supports through an arc of approximately 180, pulleys journaled on the upper portion of said frame, a frame arranged to slide vertically on the first mentioned frame between said supports, pulleys journaled on said sliding frame, a hose supported by said pulleys and springs arranged on the lower portion of the first mentioned iii-1 frame for yieldingly supporting the sliding frame v on said horizontally disposed frame, pulleys journaled on the upper portion of the swinging frame, a hose supported by said pulleys and grease guards partially surrounding the upright members of said U-shaped frame and arranged between said upright members and said hose.

4. In an air service hose rack, a pair of spaced vertically aligned supports, an upright U-shaped frame mounted for horizontal swinging movement upon said supports through an arc of approximately 180, blocks arranged for sliding movement on the upright members of said sliding frame said blocks being provided with grease chambers through which pass the upright members of said U-shaped frame, a horizontally disposed frame connecting said blocks, pulleys journaled on said horizontally disposed frame, pulleysjournaled on the upper portion of the swinging frame, a hose supported by said pulleys grease guards partially surrounding the upright members of said U-shaped frame and said sliding blocks, which guards are arranged between the upright members of said U-shaped frame and said hose and springs on the lower portion of the swinging frame for cushioning the sliding blocks while the same are at their lower limit of travel,

naled on the upper portion of the swinging frame,

on said horizontallydisposed frame, pulleys jour- V a hose supported by said pulleys and vertically disposed channels enclosing the upright-members of said U-shaped frame and arranged between the upright member's of said U-shaped frame and said hose. 1 j 1 6. In an air servicehose rack, a frame mounted to swing on a vertical axis, said frame having upright members, blocks arranged for sliding movement on said upright members, said blocks having lubricant chambers through which the upswinging frame and the upright portions of the hose that are supported by said pulleys.

. THOMAS H. SHOPE. 

